ESL Illness & Symptoms Lesson Plan

OBJECTIVE & OVERVIEW

This ESL illnesses & symptoms lesson plan provides activities, PDF worksheets, and digital materials designed for pre-intermediate A2 students. In this lesson, students will:

• Discuss a variety of symptoms and illnesses, such as the common cold
• Learn some vocabulary and phrases related to symptoms and being sick
• Watch a short commercial video about an over-the-counter medicine to help with a common cold
• Study and use a variety of phrases in dialogues about being sick
• Engage in role plays and discussions about being sick and offering advice

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

In the first part of this ESL lesson about illnesses and symptoms, students match symptoms like a runny nose or sore throat to images of people experiencing them. They then discuss their own experiences with sickness, including symptoms they have had and any treatments used.

Students also complete sentences using phrases related to managing cold symptoms, such as:

• to take a sick day
• to drink plenty of fluids
• to come down with the cold
• to ease your symptoms

VIEWING ACTIVITY

In the viewing activity, students watch a short commercial video featuring an over-the-counter medicine to help with a common cold. The video shows a man coughing and sneezing and having trouble sleeping. His partner gets frustrated in the video but gives him some medicine. In the activity, students order symptoms of a cold as mentioned in the video, such as coughing and sneezing. They then complete a true/false exercise regarding over-the-counter medications and their effects, correcting any false statements. In the last part, they identify who in the video exhibits certain symptoms or actions, such as coughing or using tissues.

DISCUSSION & DIALOGUES

In the part after the video, students evaluate the effectiveness of the ad in the video and share their experiences with similar medications. They also discuss other common illnesses people experience. Finally, students read dialogues about managing sickness. They sort sentences/phrases from these dialogues into categories like describing symptoms, giving advice, or expressing sympathy.

FEELING SICK? GET THE HELP YOU NEED!

For task-based communicative activation, students choose a health issue, such as migraines, allergies and write notes about their symptoms and treatments. They then role-play a scenario where one student is a helpful friend and the other describes their health issue, using adjectives and adverbs to describe the intensity of their symptoms. Alternatively, students discuss various topics related to health issues and treatments.

BENEFITS OF USING THIS ESL ILLNESS & SYMPTOMS LESSON:

Vocabulary Improvement

Students improve their vocabulary related to health and illness. This enables them to better describe symptoms and understand health-related discussions.

Role-Playing and Conversational Skills

Role-playing scenarios where students give and receive advice about health issues helps develop their conversational skills. This enhances their practical language use.

Personal Health Reflection

The lesson prompts students to reflect on their own experiences with illness. This promotes self-awareness and better management of health-related discussions.

Describing Symptoms & Giving Advice

Students strengthen their ability to describe symptoms and provide relevant advice. This is useful for everyday conversations about health.